KUCHING: DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen confirmed that his political secretary Dr Kelvin Yii will be the new DAP candidate for Stampin parliamentary seat in the coming 14th general election (GE14).

At the same time, he also indicated that there ‘may be some changes’ to where he (Chong) would be contesting in GE14, but confirmed that he will be defending Bandar Kuching for the time being.

“There have been a lot of speculations on who will contest in Stampin and Bandar Kuching. Just to dispel all doubt, at the moment, Dr Kelvin is the identified person for Stampin but there may be some changes. This is official for the time being.

“In politics, anything is possible. For the time being also, I will be defending Bandar Kuching,” said Chong, who is also Pakatan Harapan Sarawak chairman, to reporters after a luncheon hosted by DAP at a restaurant here today.

He also explained a new candidate is needed for Stampin because its incumbent Julian Tan had indicated not seeking re-election.

Dr Yii, 32, is a medical doctor by training but now pursuing a master’s degree in medical law as he had already completed a bachelor’s degree in law. The former SMK St Joseph Kuching student had spent nine years in a medical school in Russia and used to serve at the Sarawak General Hospital.

In elaborating further, Chong pointed out that Stampin is now a grey area for the Opposition after the Batu Lintang state seat was moved to Bandar Kuching, which already comprised Padungan and Pending state seats.

He said this was because Batu Lintang is an area where the Opposition had won handsomely. Stampin now comprised the state seats of Kota Sentosa, Batu Kawa and Batu Kitang.

“Stampin is now a grey area mainly because of the gerrymandering on the part of SPR (Election Commission). The whole Batu Lintang which has about 20,000 voters is taken out of Stampin and put in Bandar Kuching, and this gives Barisan Nasional a fighting chance in Stampin.

“Some Dayak and Malay kampungs have also been moved to Stampin area. As for Bandar Kuching it is not a sure win, but the chances of opposition winning in the Bandar Kuching seat has been increased (with the addition of Batu Lintang),” he said.

Asked on DAP’s chances of retaining all its five parliamentary seats in Sarawak, he said this question can be answered by how determined the people are in wanting a change in the country and whether they want to endorse the corruption and kleptocracy linked to the BN government.